


love me 'til my heart stops

by harpydora



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Brief Mention of injuries, Missing Scene, Other, Sad Fluff, mostly canon-compliant, tm 66 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 06:26:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15835626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harpydora/pseuds/harpydora
Summary: The first night Grand spends on Moonlock, Echo doesn't let him out of their sight, as if they're worried he'll disappear if they look away long enough. Which… well, with as shitty as Echo looked when they'd finally made it inside his safe-house, Grand can't say he's eager to let Echo out of his sight, either.





	love me 'til my heart stops

**Author's Note:**

> Here, have some sad Grand/Echo fluff set directly after the rescue but before the conversation over food. Thank you Annie, Lu, Alix, and Muna for the encouragement, and thank you @nosignofwings for the quick once-over.
> 
> Title is from "This Must Be The Place" by The Talking Heads.
> 
> Find me on Twitter @harpydora and come scream with me about Grand/Echo (or Cass/AuDy, or FatT in general).

The first night Grand spends on Moonlock, Echo doesn't let him out of their sight, as if they're worried he'll disappear if they look away long enough. Which… well, with as shitty as Echo looked when they'd finally made it inside his safe-house, Grand can't say he's eager to let Echo out of his sight, either.

So when Echo grabs his hand, he lets them; and when Echo refuses to let go—even with a pair of medics fussing over them—he doesn't pull away. It's the least he can do after Echo got cut to shit saving him, isn't it?

One of the medics gives him a pointed look. "I think it would be best if you waited outside, Mister—"

"He's not leaving," Echo says with enough force that the medic nearly jumps. Their fingers tighten around Grand's. He's not sure if he should say anything to support or refute Echo's claim, so he just squeezes back.

That must have been the correct choice, because he's rewarded with a wan, lopsided smile.

He holds Echo's hand in his own through the debriding of wounds, through application of antiseptic ointments, through a little over a dozen stitches. Grand can't watch—never had the stomach for blood when it comes down to it—so he studies Echo's knuckles. By the time the medics are done with them, he's pretty sure he has the backs of Echo's hands memorized.

The medics clear out, leaving just Echo and Grand next to each other and alone.

"I'm glad you're here," Echo says, voice quiet.

A queasy sort of feeling washes over Grand, tying his stomach into a knot. "Glad to be here," he responds. It's the truth, but… He knows he can't stay, and it's plain that Echo wants him to.

Eventually, Echo shifts. They throw their legs over the side of the infirmary bed. "Let's get out of here."

"Sure," Grand agrees. When Echo tugs on his hand, he has no choice but to go along with them. It isn't like he knows this place. It isn't like he has anywhere else to be in this exact moment (even if he has somewhere else he needs to be in the end).

Echo leads him through labyrinthine hallways until they reach a door that Echo opens with the wave of their free hand. They pull Grand over the threshold into a sparsely decorated room with a bunk bed on the far side and little else.

"This your room?"

"Yeah. Figured it'd be a better place to… I don't know. To sit around. So we're out of the way."

Grand nods, his throat dry and his brain devoid of any intelligent response.

"Listen, um." Echo clears their throat. "Today was a lot and I'm kind of wiped."

"You brought me here because you want me to watch you take a nap?"

Echo bristles, their eyes narrowing. "I don't know. I just… I want you here. Because you ran off and that fucking sucked. So I guess I was just hoping you'd stick around a little bit."

"Okay," Grand says after a moment. With everything Echo risked, a simple request like that is difficult to deny. And Grand would be lying if he said that the idea didn't hold some appeal. "How about—how about we both lie down then?"

All the frustration bleeds out of Echo's expression, leaving just a hint of surprise in its wake. "Okay. Yeah. That… That sounds nice. You didn't have a great past couple of days either, huh?"

"Yeah. I could use some sleep, too." This time, Grand is the one to lead Echo by the hand as he crosses the room to the bottom bunk. He sits on the edge and releases Echo's hand so he can remove his shoes. Then he stretches out on the mattress with his back to the wall. Echo does the same, taking off their shoes and settling in on the bed facing Grand.

They leave a space between them; it isn't much given the size of the bed, but it's there. A tiny, vast chasm of uncertainty.

Across the chasm, Grand whispers, "Hey."

"Hey," Echo whispers back. It's a sad, broken syllable that makes Grand wince.

Tentatively, Grand reaches out and rests his hand on Echo's shoulder. "It's okay," he says, even though he's not sure  _ what _ it is that he's declaring to be okay. For all he knows, it could be a lie. But it seems like the right thing to say.

Echo takes it as a sign and surges forward, faster than they have any right to given their injuries and how exhausted they are. They fist both of their hands in the front of Grand's shirt and pull themself close enough that they can press their face into Grand's collar bone. "God, I'm so pissed at you," they say. "You went and you ran away and I'm so mad, but I can't keep being mad now that you're right here."

They take a few shuddering breaths before Grand realizes that they're crying. He can't think of a damn thing to say, so he settles for switching from touching Echo's shoulder to rubbing soothing circles on their back. In response, Echo pulls themself closer until their entire body is flush with Grand's.

"I want to hate you," they say into Grand's shoulder. "I want to hate you for leaving."

"It's okay if you do," Grand tells them. "I made a lot of bad decisions."

"You can stop doing that now. Just stay here."

Grand says nothing because what is there to say?

*

There's no telling who drifted off first, and it's ultimately irrelevant. When Grand wakes up, they've changed positions: Echo's head is tucked under his chin, their legs are tangled together, and Echo's arm is flung over his side. Their hand clutches the back of his shirt as if to keep him from getting away. Echo's breathing is deep and even and warm against Grand's chest.

Everything is so peaceful.

An idea crosses Grand's mind, something soft and gentle, and he can't resist it. He tilts his head down, slowly so as not to disturb Echo's slumber and lets his lips just barely brush the top of Echo's head.

In his arms, despite his best efforts, Echo stirs. "Mmf… Grand?" Their voice is rough with sleep and muffled by Grand's chest.

"I'm here," Grand says as soothingly as he can.

Echo relaxes into him. Nods. "Okay. Okay. Good. Just… Just stay right here."

"Hey, you wanted me to watch you nap," he says. Echo huffs out a laugh.

"No, you ass. I just wanted you to stay."

"Well, I did," Grand says. And, following the same whim that took him before, he presses another kiss into Echo's hair.

Echo freezes, and for a moment he's sure he's overstepped his boundaries. He prepares to pull away and reinstate the space between them, but Echo's arm around him tightens. "Uh-uh, you don't get to do that." A quiet ferocity fills their words.

"I'm sorry, I—" Grand stammers, but Echo cuts him off.

"You don't… Fuck you, Grand Magnificent."

And that's when they tilt their head up and crush their lips against his.

The kiss is a hungry, desperate thing; Grand's own desperation (for affection, for absolution) mingles with Echo's (for closeness, for solid ground) and renders the kiss harsh and demanding. When Echo pulls away, they're both breathless.

"Okay," Grand breathes. "That was…"

"Yeah."

"Do it again?" he asks. He feels like he should be ashamed of how desperate the question is, but he can't find it in himself to care.

"Yeah," Echo says.

The next kiss is kinder. Echo's lips are soft against his, more pliant. It's easier for Grand to let his eyes slide shut, easier for him to let his hand come up to cup Echo's cheek. He strokes Echo's cheek with the pad of his thumb while Echo nips lightly at his bottom lip. This time it's Grand who breaks away to come up for air.

"You still wanna leave now?"

"No," Grand says, because he doesn't, because he never did. But he hopes against hope that Echo doesn't ask whether or not he  _ will, _ because he isn't sure he could lie to Echo. Not holding them so gently like this.

Fortunately, Echo doesn't ask. They just go in for another kiss.


End file.
